Field
The following description relates generally to wireless network communications, and more particularly to operator-specific application profiles.
Background
Advances in technology have resulted in smaller and more powerful personal computing devices. For example, there currently exist a variety of portable personal computing devices, including wireless computing devices, such as portable wireless telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and paging devices that are each small, lightweight, and can be easily carried by users. More specifically, the portable wireless telephones, for example, further include cellular telephones that communicate voice and data packets over wireless networks. Further, many such cellular telephones are being manufactured with relatively large increases in computing capabilities, and as such, are becoming tantamount to small personal computers and hand-held PDAs. Many cellular telephones are able to execute applications with which a user can interact that can utilize one or more services on the cellular telephone.
Various standards have developed to guide device and network implementations, such as multiple third generation partnership project (3GPP), 3GPP2, 3GPP LTE, and/or similar standards. In addition, an open market handset (OMH) initiative has formed to increase the variety of cellular telephones, improve interoperability with standards and network operators, etc., over code division multiple access (CDMA) and/or other networks. In an example, removable user identity modules (R-UIM) are provided by network operators to include user subscription information, network operator information, etc., allowing a user to utilize different cellular telephones with a network operator to which the user subscribes by swapping the R-UIM in the telephones.
Currently, network operators are limited in the ability to provide tailored content and/or applications for devices. While applications can access one or more profiles to utilize certain services on devices (e.g., wireless application protocol (WAP) services, multimedia message service (MMS), etc.), these profiles are generic and useable by substantially any application developer or network operator. In OMH, there are currently 7 predefined application types that can be specified by a profile (e.g., in an elementary file for simple internet protocol user profile parameter extension block), including unspecified, multimedia messaging service (MMS), wireless application protocol (WAP) browser, Java, Terminal, and two reserved types.